May 3, 2012

Dr. William C. Wood '62 Named Alumnus of the Year

Dr. William C. Wood, an internationally recognized cancer surgeon, academic, and researcher, will be presented as Alumnus of the Year for Distinguished Service to Society 2012 by the Wheaton College Alumni Association during Alumni Weekend, May 4-5.

For 40 years, Dr. Wood has worked to prevent disease and promote healing through faithful, compassionate service, earning recognition for his outstanding contributions to cancer therapy and clinical trials.

Dr. Wood graduated from Wheaton in 1962. He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1966 with a specialty in surgical oncology.

Following his graduation from medical school, Dr. Wood was a clinical and research fellow at the National Institutes of Health. He completed a fellowship in surgery at Harvard and a general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he eventually became Medical Director of the Cancer Center and Chief of Surgical Ontology. He taught surgery at Harvard Medical School for 28 years before joining the Emory University School of Medicine as the Joseph Brown Whitehead Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery in 1991.

Dr. Wood has published more than 270 journal articles and 39 book chapters, and done 80 national and international visiting professorships. Additionally, he has served as editor of the journal Oncology and of various medical textbooks, including Surgery of the Breast: Principles and Art and Advances in Breast Cancer Management and The Anatomic Basis of Tumor Surgery. Dr. Wood has also chaired and advised various medical boards focused on cancer treatment. He was named to USA Today’s Most Influential Doctors database, and has appeared in all six editions of America’s Top Doctors for Cancer.

Recently retired as Chairman of the Surgery Department at Emory University School of Medicine, Dr. Wood served for 36 years as a trustee at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary as well as on the board of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations. He is now working to meet global medical needs, giving special attention to establishing affordable and sustainable cancer care in developing countries in Africa.

Dr. Wood and his wife, Judy Lindsell Wood ’65, have three children and five grandchildren.

The Wheaton College Alumni Association is pleased to honor Dr. Wood for his leadership and pioneering work in surgical oncology, combined with a deep Christian faith.